Usually I'm not swayed by the lifestyles of others enough to integrate them into my own life, but todays artists are so cool that I almost spend $250 on a Dyno with black mag rims. Hailing from two different muscle car cities, the hip hop duo has been turning heads over the last few years with their EPs and mixtapes. I present, The Cool Kids.

Their first hit song on their EP The Bake Sale, entitled Black Mags gave way to a video that showed their daily life while pedaling around the city. Lyrically, they tend to be entertaining, and talking about their childhood, women, old skool gold jewelry, video games, and other shit they think/know is cool.

After their successful EP, and working with acts such as M.I.A., Lil Wayne, and Maroon 5, the duo is working towards their first official album, slated to drop sometime this year. Additionally, The Cool Kids have been featured in my favorite HBO show Entourage, and also in NBA Live 08, MLB 2K8, and even recorded an original track for NBA 2K9 entitled Pennies (thanks to my brother Josh for that one).

To get us ready for this new album, which will be titled When Fish Ride Bicycles, The Cool Kids recently released today's focus album, Gone Fishing. Gone Fishing is a mixtape that was Co-Produced by DJ Don Cannon, and has worked its way into my heart as one of the best mixtapes I've heard since Girl Talk's Feed the Animals. Now, without further digression, let's BaRF on this album like it so deserves.

Beats: 8/10

I really dug the beats on this album throughout. The beats were quite gutter, with a lovely assortment of snares among the key points of the instrumentals. Don Cannon did a stand up job cutting these tracks up with The Cool Kids.

From the beginning, we are hit with the first track, Introduction to Ice Fishing, which had me nodding my head throughout. The primal beat for the first minute mixed with the DJ running back the track a few times for us had me feeling like a champ at my little desk. The snares and high hats are few and far between, and the last 25 or so seconds the beat is changed up a bit before heading to the rest of the album. A great start indeed.

Another simple beat track, The Last Stretch is the 9th track on the mixtape, with a feeling of a Disney Jungle movie beat coupled with the touch of guitar mixed in with the eerie flutes. While this beat is simple, it's what it mixed into that had me feeling nostalgic. Moving along the end of the track, we reach an interlude titled The Art of Noise. As the 10th track, its name is a nod to the chillout band (called The Art of Noise) that it's sampling from. The song sampled is called Moments in Love, and is sped up for the duo to rap over.

Track 14, Pennies (the updated rosters remix), is my favorite beat on this album. This is a gutter beat at its finest. My brother got me into this song, and now I walk around mimicking the songs whistling that originates about 45 seconds into the song.

Rhymes: 8/10

The wordplay by the cool kids is always a joy, because they remind me of a rap Anthony Kiedis. Why? Because sometimes what they say isn't exactly making sense, but the wordplay is funny and out there. Put simply, I have never heard of a guide to eating turkey when you're running out of breath, nor instructions on how to get vagina while hanging at the cookout. Yeah, weird. But songs are just downright fun, specifically for the intro track, The Last Stretch, and Pennies.

No one has lyrics on this album anywhere on the internet, nor have I had the patience to transcribe it either. You'll just have to experience this one on your own. But onward.

Featurettes: 7/10

I think that the best composed song overall has to be Pennies, because of its gritty beat, and its Featurettes. I think it was interesting that Ludacris and Bun B aren't listed on the tracks, but instead, you hear Ludacris say "Disturbing tha Peace, Luda....Suprise bitches!" To this fact, I was indeed surprised. Bun B from UGK is also in the song, and the fact that he used the term "pause" had me cracking up and rewinding the track a few times before proceeding.

The others on the cd do a good job, but they are relatively unknown. I will say however that my favorite "unknown" was Jahda on the 9th track, The Last Stretch.

Overall, this album is good but not great. But again, this wasn't the point; instead it was to get you ready for the release of the actual long awaited album. Think of it as a similar situation to what Ludacris (the irony of him being on this album just hit me) did with his mixtape Pre-Release Therapy before the album Release Therapy came out.

The best part about this album is that it's FREE. That's right, The Cool Kids have graced us with this lovely cd for free. All you need to go to their website or MySpace and follow the instructions. I can't make it any easier for you. Enjoy it!